Cartridge.



No. 703,839. v v; l Patented July l, |902.

R. W. SCUTT.

CARTRIDGE.

(Application tiled Oct. 16,1899.)

'(No Model.)

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Tu: Nonms Pzrzns w4 Puoaumo.. WASHINGTON. u. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT W. SCOTT, OF P HILAD1.1111113111@,y PENNSYLYANIA, AASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO LOUIS N. D. WILLIAMS, OF ASHBOURNE, PENNSYL- VANIA IcART-RloGE-...f

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 703,839, dated July 1, 1902.

" Application fired october 16,1899. `serai No. 733,741. or@ modem To @ZZ z'otom/ it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ROBERT W. SCOTT,'a citizen of the United States, residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Cartridges, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to metallic cartridges of that class which have an enlarged explosive-chamber and a reduced neck for the reception of the projectile. The 'shell for the usual cartridge of this class is drawn in one piece from a disk of metal, severalv operations being necessary in order to draw it to the proper length. After heading the blank is a cylinder of thin `metal substantially uniform in diameter throughoutits length, and the neck or reduced portion for receiving the projectile is formed by forcing a die of appropriate form over the openend ofthe shell, which has the effect of crushing the tube so as to reduce its diameter' to the desired exj' tent. It is very-diicult'topreventfthe tube' from collapsing during this operation, and the percentage of loss due to this cause is very great. Moreover, shells made :infthis way are inherently weak at the neck and at the shoulder between the neck and body of the shell, and rupture at suchpoints. is veriT frequent when the cartridge is fired, the result being thefjamming of the'neck ofthe shell in thegun, which in the case of magazine and machine guns involves great danger of disabling or burstingthe piece. vAllexperts agree that it isimpracticable, and dangerous to rel'oad'the'se shells, it having been demonstrated by repeated experiments that the metal composing the shell is rendered'.

exceedingly brittleby the explosion of the first charge of high-power smokeless powder. The highest Vauthorities fail to agree as `to the cause of deterioration of the metal, some ascribing it to the chemicalreaction of the gases ofV combustion upon the metal of the shell and others claiming that a galvanic action is set up; but all agree that the trouble is caused by the contact with the shell of the gases resulting from the Yiring of high eXplosives in the cartridge. That pressure is not accountable seems to be apparent from the 5o fact that ordinary charcoal or black powder,

although generating enormous pressure, does not so affect the shells, which may when such black powder is used be reloaded many times without danger.

Attempts have been made to strengthen the mouths of shells and avoid the use of the reduced neck-portionA by the employment of a ring of metal held in the mouth of the shell and having a ange abutting against the end of said shell, the ring being retained in position by'means of'an 4annular crimp in the shell forced into an annular groove in the ring. The inner edge of such ring, however, although tapered to a fine edge, serves to intercept certain of the lines of force when the cartridge is fired. Hence the ring is loosened andv the gases are 'permitted to escape around ,the same-that isto say, between the ring and casing.- Inv theshellV referred to, moreover, the proj ectile-retaining ring is of a form Y'necessitating its manufacture by aturning process, which renders it expensive, whereas the parts of my improved shell can all be formed kbya drawing process,hence insuring economy of manufacture. v

In shells designed for carrying a number of projectiles one in advance of another, such a's'are shown inan application for patent filed by me on the 3dY day of September, 1898, Serial No.1690,155, a neck'or projectile-receivingtube of .unusual length is necessary, and

ydifiic'ul'ty has been experienced yin forming these necks by the crushing process before referred'to, because of such extreme length; but by my present invention such shells may be formed as readily and cheaply as those of ordinary single-shot cartridges.

My cartridge-shell comprises two portions, both formedby drawing, one portion having lthe head and the other the neck, these two portions being suitably locked together; and the `invention also consists in forming two shellsy so that one..will constitute a lining for the other, thus producing Aa double walled shellY and protecting the outer portion from the destructive action of the gases of combustion. The neck portion of the'shell is in either case preferably thickened or strengthened.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional view of a cartridge made in accordance with my invention. Figs. 2 and 3 are views of the blank for the inner casing, showing successive stages of its manufacture. Fig. at is a view of the cartridge-shell before the two parts of the same have been secured together. Fig. is a View of the cartridgeshell after said parts have been secured together; and Figs. 6 to ll, inclusive, are views of cartridges or parts of cartridges, illustrating other embodiments of my invention.

The cartridge shown in Fig. l comprises an outer shell I and an inner shell 2, the latter fitting snugly inside the outer shell and extending throughout the length of the same and having atits outer end a thickened neck 3, which receives the projectile 4, said neck being tapered both at its outer and inner ends and the outer tapered end or shoulder of the neck being overlapped by the inturned end 5 of the outer shell I, the rear end of the inner shell abutting against the base of the head of the outer shell and, if desired, being upset or bent in against said base, so as to form a tight joint therewith. By this means not only is the desired stiffening and strengthening of the neck of the cartridge effectually accomplished, but the double wall for the powder-chamber which is formed protects the outer shell from the destructive effects arising from the combustion of high-power explosive in the shell, and thus prevents that deterioration of the metal of the shell to which I have before alluded. Hence a cartridge made in accordance with my invention can be reloaded as often as a cartridge using ordinary black powder. The inner shell with its thickened neck can, moreover, be readily formed by drawing operations. Thus Fig. 2 represents the condition of the blank after the tubular portion of the shell has been drawn, and Fig. 3 represents the condition of the blank after the thickened head has had the central opening formed therein by punching or otherwise and has been drawn or Swaged into the desired form for the finished neck. The two parts of the shell can then be fitted together, as shown in Fig. 4t, and locked by crimping or turning down the projecting end of the shell I over the outer tapered end of the thickened neck 3, as shown in Fig. 5, after which the shell can be loaded and the projectile inserted, as shown in Fig. l.

It will be observed that in myimproved cartridge there is no joint in the direction of the lines of force of' the explosion, thus lessening the tendency of said force to drive the two shells apart or open the joints, so as to permit of the escape of gases between them.

lVhile I prefer in all cases to use the thickened neck upon the inner shell, certain of the advantages of my invention may be attained even if such thickened neck is dispensed with. For instance, in Fig. 6 I have shown a cartridge in which the inner shell is composed of sheet metal of uniform thickness throughout, such shell being readily drawn down to form the reduced neck, owing to the fact that it is open at the larger end. In this case also I have illustrated the invention in connection with a multishot cartridge, the neck portion of the cartridge being of such a length as to receive three projectiles ta.

If desired, the base of the powder-chamber of the cartridge may be taperedgradually, as shown in Fig. 7, so that the inner end of the inner shell 2 may be drawn in close to the fire-hole 6, whereby it serves both to line the head and outer wall of the shell, the force of the explosion in this case being exerted rearwardly as well as forwardly upon the inner shell, whereby the tendency to loosen the same is overcome or reduced to a minimum.

The head of the cartridge may be formed upon the inner shellas shown, for instance, in Fig. S-the end of the outer shell being crimped into a groove in the head in order to unite the two shells together. The forcing of the outer shell upon the inner shell in this case can by the use of a suitable die be caused to crimp the forward end of the inner shell, so as to form the double-walled shoulder 5f. This construction is especially valuable in the manufacture of the so-called rimless shells, such as are used in the clips of magazine-guns, dsc., as the end of the outer shell can be crimped down into the forward portion of the extractor-groove 8 of such a shell.V

In Fig. 9 I have illustrated the application of one feature of my invention to a cartridge in which a grooved ring is fitted to the outer end of the cartridge-shell and islocked thereto by crimping a portion of the shell into the groove in the ring, as shown at 7.

In adapting my invention to a cartridge of this character I make the ring in the form of a neck with beveled inner and outer faces and extend from the ring to the base of the explosive-chamber of the cartridge the inner shell 2 for protecting the outer shell from the injurious effects of the explosion-gases.

In standard cartridges the length of neck beyond the shoulder 54 is not as great as in the multishot cartridge shown in Fig. 6; but in order to use a series of projectiles in a cartridge in such a manner that the latter can be used interchangeablyin the same gun with such a standard cartridge I provide the inserted neck 3C with a projecting tubular portion of the same length as that of such a standard cartridge, and in order to accommodate the series of projectiles I carry the neck 3C rearwardly to a greater extent, as shown in Fig. l0, which is a view of the forward end of a cartridge whose rear end is intended to be constructed inthe manner shown in Fig. 7. This produces a cartridge having a projectile-receiving portion extending both rearwardly and forwardly beyond the shoulder. The rearward projection of course lessens the capacity of the chamber for the explosive as compared with that of a standard cartridge; but this is compensated for to some extent by the charges interposed between the IIO projectiles of the series and is, moreover, good practice, because of the greater weight of the projectile.

The advantages of economical production arising from the manufacture of the cartridge-shell of two drawn tubes may be attained even without disposing the shells so that one will act as a lining for the other and produce a double wall. For instance, in Fig. ll I have shown a construction in which the head of the cartridge has a projecting tube l0, slightly reduced in diameter at or near its outer end, and the other portion of the cartridge comprising a neck 3a, shoulder 5, and body portion l1, the latter tting snugly to the reduced portion of the shell l and being locked thereto by forcing portions 12 of said shell into openings 13 in the shelllO by pressure exerted internally upon said shell l0.

An important advantage of my invention will be recognized when it is borne in mind that the present standard forty-grain shell is barely able to carry the full service charge of explosive, and the arsenals are resorting to the questionable practice of packing the explosive in order to attain high muzzle velocity with its accompanying fiatter trajectory and greater penetration, it apparently having been demonstrated that the guns will stand the increased pressure and that the metal-jacketed bullets will not jump the riiiing when moving at velocities materially in excess of the two-thousand-foot seconds heretofore demanded. It is recognized that these ends are always best attained by relatively increasing the diameter of the combustion-chamber of the cartridge; but such increase, the diameter of the projectile-receiving tube of course remaining the same, would result in greatly increased loss due to collapse during the process of necking By myinvention, however, this objection is overcome, and the diameter of the explosivechamber may be increased as desired relatively to that of the projectile.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent-- l. A cartridge comprising two drawn sheetmetal tubes one having the head and the other the reduced and projectile-receiving neck, the two shells being fitted together and locked by engagement of one with the other, substantially as specified.

2. Acartridge comprising two drawn sheetmetal tubes,one having the head and the other having a thickened neck for receiving the projectile, said shells being fitted together and locked by engagement of one with the other, substantially as specified.

3. A cartridge having two shells, one with the head and the other with the projectilereceiving neck, said shells being fitted together so that one forms a lining for the other and being locked together so as to prevent their separation, substantially as specified.

4. A cartridge composed of two shells, one having a head and the other a projectile contracted receiving-neck,said shells being tted together so that one forms a lining for the other, the inner end of said lining-shell abutting against the head of the shell at the base of the explosive-receiving chamber, substantially as specified.

5. A cartridge consisting of two shells, one having the head and the other the projectile contracted receiving-neck, said shells being fitted together so that one constitutes alining for the other, the inner end of the lining-shell being contracted in diameter so as to serve also as a lining for the inner face of the head of the cartridge, substantially as specified.

6. A cartridge consisting of inner and outer shells, the inner shell having a projectilereceiving neck, a flaring shoulder, and a body portion which serves as a lining for the outer shell, and said outer shell having the head at one end and being bent in over the ilaring shoulder of the inner shell at the other end, substantially as specified.

7. A cartridge having at one endahead and at the opposite end a contracted proj ectile-receiving neck, and, between the two, a body anda flaring shoulder portion both of which are double-walled throughout, substantially as specified.

S. A cartridge-shell having a shoulder for bearing against a shoulder in the cartridgechamber of the gun, and a projectile-receiving portion contracted so as to fit the projectile and extending both forwardly and rearwardly beyond said shoulder.

9. Acartridge-shell havinga double-walled explosive-chamber, an external shoulder, and a projectile-receiving portion extending both forwardly and rearwardly beyond said shoulder.

l0. A cartridge having an external shoulder, a projectile-receiving portion contracted so as to it the projectiles and extending both forwardly and rearwardly beyond said shoulder, and a series of projectiles disposed one in advance of another therein.

11. A cartridge having a double -walled explosive-chamber, an external shoulder, a projectile-receiving portion extending both forwardly and rearwardly beyond said shoulder and a series of projectiles disposed one in advance of another therein.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ROBERT W. SCOTT.

Witnesses:

F. E. BEOHTOLD, Jos. H. KLEIN.

IOO 

